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Illinois Public Media

Indiana Dems Continue Boycott Tuesday

House Republicans levied more fines Tuesday against Democrats who resumed their boycott over divisive right-to-work legislation.

Most of the House's 40 Democrats skipped an afternoon session of the House on Tuesday. The move comes one day after Democrats lost an effort to put the right-to-work measure on the ballot.

Democrats have stayed off the House floor to prevent a 67-member quorum needed to conduct business. Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma says he hasn't heard from Democratic House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer since Monday evening.

Bosma said if he can get a handful more Democrats to split from the caucus then he can achieve the quorum needed to conduct business. Although he said he is not lobbying Democrats to return to the floor and is "still counting on people to wake up.''

Five Democrats split with the caucus early in the 2012 session, showing up to the floor routinely for sessions. They say they oppose the right-to-work bill, but don't agree with the stall tactics.

The Republicans want to make Indiana the 23rd state to bar unions from collecting mandatory representation fees.

The measure passed the Senate Monday. But Democrats walked off the House floor Monday after losing a series of bruising party-line votes in an effort to change the measure.